U.S. warns of possible Burundi sanctions, alarmed at arms reports

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is prepared to impose sanctions on anyone planning or taking part in violence related to protests against the president's bid for a third term, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after a closed-door United Nations Security Council meeting on Burundi, Power also expressed alarm at reports about the distribution of weapons to militias supporting President Pierre Nkurunziza. She described those reports as credible. "The United States is very carefully monitoring the situation, and we are prepared to take targeted measures including visa bans or sanctions against those who plan and or participate in widespread violence of the kind that we all fear," she said. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau)